


Knowledge

by Burgie



Category: Star Stable Online
Genre: Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-04
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-29 05:39:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12624432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/pseuds/Burgie
Summary: Z and Jack try to help Evergray write his memoirs. Chaos ensues when Izabella gives him a new idea. Z belongs to ZDusk, Jack belongs to SSO-Jack-Wolfwatcher, and Dizzy belongs to hollow_moon





	1. Knowledge

Jack could almost ride Dale with his eyes closed, even when they were doing fancy dressage movements. His beautiful dapple grey horse trotted around the circus tent, making perfect circles, the lights from above almost making his coat glow. But, behind Jack’s closed eyelids, he saw an actual dressage arena.

Riding Dale instilled in him a confidence that had been missing from his life for so long. With Dale in charge, he didn’t need to worry about messing up, because his horse knew exactly what to do. Where to put his hooves, how to move, even what gait to go in. He reared up in a perfect levade, getting the angle just right, and Jack opened his eyes, grinning, to imaginary applause. Sometimes, Ydris enchanted the circus tent to include actual phantom applause, but today wasn’t one of those days. That didn’t matter, though.

But, when the tent flap suddenly opened and a strange man burst through into the tent, Dale thumped down rather heavily back onto all fours.

“Get in here, they won’t find you in here and anyway, they’ll need a ticket and you bet your ass they’ve left their tickets in their home stables,” said a more familiar voice, and Jack frowned in confusion as Zelda hurried inside the tent and pulled the flaps closed as well as she could on Phantom.

Evergray stood in the tent, looking around.

“Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully. “This is new.”

“Z,” said Jack, riding over to her, “can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yeah, sure, Jack,” said Z. She looked at Evergray. “Go do your thing.” Waving him off, she joined Jack, dismounting near the entrance. Immediately, Jack grabbed the collar of her jacket and pulled her into his face.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Jack hissed.

“Hiding from his flock of admirers,” said Z.

“Well, I don’t want him here,” said Jack. “He hurt Ydris!”

“When?” asked Z.

“Ages ago,” said Jack. “When Ydris was just an apprentice.”

“Shit, that was a long time ago, then,” said Z. “But alright, I’ll take him somewhere else. He just wants to hide out for a while, you know? He can’t exactly get in the zone when he’s being chased by half the young druids.”

“What the fuck is he doing now?” asked Jack, seeing Evergray sitting cross-legged and floating in a nimbus of pink several centimetres above the ground.

“God knows,” said Z. “Meditating, I think.”

“Well, get him out of here,” said Jack. “Just… I dunno, get him to write his memoirs or his thesis or some shit.”

“Good idea,” said Z, and walked over to the strange, sick druid. “Hey, Evergray, new plan.”

“Oh? What is it?” asked Evergray as he coughed and crashed back to the ground. He got to his feet, coughing and hacking up some pink gunk. Z shuddered at the look of it.

“Well, you know a lot of stuff, right?” asked Z.

“Yes,” said Evergray, nodding. “More than even the Keepers, because their knowledge is limited by their stupid rules.”

“Great! So do you think you should maybe write it down somewhere?” asked Z.

“Hmm. I have thought about that,” said Evergray. “But would there be enough paper and ink?”

“Who needs paper and ink when you’ve got a computer?” said Z. Evergray looked at her blankly.

“What’s a computer?” asked Evergray. Z gaped at him.

“Wow, you really have been away for a while,” said Z. “Alright, I’ll try to teach you how to use a computer.”

“Never mind, I’ve gotta see this,” said Jack, riding over to them.

“Alright, whose computer should we break?” asked Z, getting back into Phantom’s saddle while Evergray hopped up on the back of the Friesian and sat cross-legged.

“Not mine, please,” said Jack. “I literally just got Sims working again.”

“Silverglade library?” asked Z. 

“Do you really wanna take him out in public?” asked Jack.

“Good point,” said Z. “Oh, I know! The Spy Master seemed okay with Evergray last time, didn’t he?”

“I don’t think they’ve met,” said Jack.

“Hey, Evergray, you don’t have beef or history with the Spy Master, do you?” asked Z, elbowing the druid to wake him up. Evergray snorted, his eyes flying open.

“No, I actually gave him the tunnels idea,” said Evergray. “Inspired by the secret network of tunnels that the Pandorian tentacles use to travel.” He closed his eyes again.

“Great! His computer can be the test subject, then,” said Z. “Let’s get going.”

“I’m going out,” Jack called to Ydris as they rode past the wagon. The window in the side was in a strange state of being open, but all Jack could see was the top of Ydris’ head bent over the book. His fiancé gave a grunt of acknowledgement, though, to show that he’d heard, and waved his hand in a quick farewell gesture. Jack was glad that Ydris was too deep in his work to notice the presence of his old ‘friend’.

The Spy Master was quite startled to suddenly find three people and two horses in his secret hideout.

“Woah, hasn’t been this busy in here since I had word about Meteor,” said the Spy Master. “Evergray, is that really you?”

“Yes, in the flesh! And still alive, in a manner of speaking. For now,” said Evergray, holding his arms out and then putting his hands on his hips after dismounting. His staff floated in the air strangely, but he grabbed it as a sudden fit of coughing wracked him. “Sorry.” He spat some pink phlegm into his handkerchief, then tucked it back into his pocket.

“You must have so much to tell us,” said the Spy Master. “I know it’ll be controversial, but just wow! We’ve learned so much about Pandoria thanks to you.”

“I’m glad that I can still be of assistance to the druids, despite being kicked out and dying,” said Evergray with a grin. He cleared his throat, which devolved into another coughing fit, ending with him having to wipe pink and red spittle from his lips

“Are you okay?” asked the Spy Master, a frown in his voice as he stepped closer to Evergray.

“Just peachy!” said Evergray, grinning. His teeth were stained pink. “But I should get to work on this research before I keel over.”

“Good idea,” said Z, leading him over to the computer. She helped him sit down in the chair, then turned the computer on for him. It was already on, so she only had to move the computer mouse a little to wake the system.

“Sorcery,” Evergray breathed, reaching his hands out and touching the screen. Z winced at the huge, dirty fingerprints left on the screen. Evergray seemed fascinated by the way the thin screen changed colour beneath his fingertips.

“Stop poking it,” said Z, moving his hand away. “Put your hand on the mouse.” Evergray did this, looking perplexed. “Now move your hand- keep it on the mouse- no not up and down, side to side- keep it on the table.”

“Ah, the little triangle moves on the screen when I move this mouse,” Evergray marvelled.

“Yes,” said Z, nodding. “Now, move your mouse over that little W icon there.” She pointed at it, and Evergray put the mouse on the screen. Z sighed, while Jack laughed. “God, never mind, I’ll do it.”

“Would you like me to take over?” asked the Spy Master.

“Please do,” said Z, walking away while the Spy Master took her place beside Evergray.

“Here, you touch the keys and letters appear on the screen,” the Spy Master instructed, tapping the keys. Evergray seemed to pick this up fairly quickly, though he pressed the keys quite hard.

“It’s just like using a typewriter,” said Evergray. “I used to use one of those. One of the reasons why I got kicked out of the Keepers. And you can just keep typing forever? You never run out of ink or paper?”

“Only when you print it,” said Z. “And only when it’s for a homework assignment.” She and Jack shared a chuckle.

“What are you guys doing?” asked Izabella, walking into the secret hideout with Syntax.

“There are too many people in here,” the Spy Master grumbled. “In my secret hideout.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t hide it very well,” said Izabella. “Also, Syntax needed you for something.”

“Well, I can’t have a secret meeting very well here,” said Syntax. “I trust you two, but I’ve never seen him before.” He pointed at Evergray.

“I’m working on my memoirs!” Evergray declared. “In the hopes that someday, the tale of my tragic fate, death by Pandorian sickness, will help someone with finding a cure.” This statement was finished by a cough. Syntax stepped back.

“It’s not contagious, is it?” asked Syntax.

“Oh no, not at all,” said Evergray. “At least, I’m fairly certain that I’m not contagious or radioactive in any way.”

“Yeeeeah, I’m just gonna go outside,” said Syntax, inching towards the door and then bolting once he was free.

“I’ll go and talk to him,” said the Spy Master. “Will you three be okay with him?”

“Yeah, we’ve got this,” said Izabella, looking over Evergray’s shoulder. “So, you’re writing your memoirs, eh?”

“Yes,” said Evergray, nodding.

“Hmm. You know, there’s a quicker way to share information with people,” said Izabella. “I’ll show you.” She minimised the word processor, opened the web browser, and went to a website. Evergray’s eyes were huge by the time she pulled away.

“What is this?” asked Evergray.

“They’re people from all over the world,” said Izabella. “The internet means that you can share loads of information with loads of different people. That’s the right way to do it.”

“Wow,” Evergray whispered, touching the screen. “Hey, what’s this? Conspiracy theories, eh? I love those!”

“Oh boy,” said Z with a sigh. “This should be interesting.”

“You’ve got capslock on,” Dizzy observed after a while.

“I am typing with big letters because everyone needs to see this very important information!” said Evergray.

“They think you’re yelling at them,” said Z. “And then they’re yelling back.”

“Why can’t I type in here now?” asked Evergray, clicking in the little text box.

“You’ve been banned from posting for twenty-four hours,” said Jack, glancing at the angry red text up the top of the page.

“Kicked out from the ‘internet’,” said Evergray with a hmph. “Typical. I’m always kicked out of places for my controversial opinions.”

“Jeez, some of these replies are really nasty,” said Z, squinting at the messages.

“Oh, I’m used to it,” said Evergray, shrugging.

“When even the crazies call you crazy, you know you’ve fucked up,” said Dizzy.

“Wait, what’s this? Real, actual tentacle monsters attacking girls? This is the evidence I need!” said Evergray, clicking on a link.

“No!” all three of them cried, lunging to stop Evergray from clicking on the link.

It was too late, so Z just turned the computer off while Dizzy groaned into her hands.

“Let’s never speak of this again,” said Z. The other two nodded in agreement, while Evergray just looked confused.

“Okay, we’re back, how bad is it?” asked the Spy Master, reentering his cave with Syntax behind him.

“He got kicked from that forum you’re always lurking on, Syntax,” said Dizzy.

“Wow, even the crazies thought you were too crazy? That sucks,” said Syntax, shaking his head.

“They were really nasty to him, too,” said Z. “But he doesn’t care.”

“See, that’s why I told you to just write it on a Word document,” said the Spy Master. “But nooo.”

“It was just a suggestion,” said Dizzy, shrugging. “But alright, you’re right, I’m going.”

“Here, let me just- WHAT THE HELL IS IN MY SEARCH HISTORY?” the Spy Master screamed while Z and Jack galloped out of there on their horses, Evergray behind Z looking bewildered.

“But I didn’t get to finish my memoirs,” Evergray mourned.

“You can finish them later,” said Z. “We just have to get out of here.”


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack gets back to the wagon and finds that Ydris is not as okay as he'd first thought with seeing Evergray again.

Jack was still chuckling by the time he arrived back up at the highland, the place he was currently calling home. But the good humour in him died when he reentered the wagon and saw Ydris still sitting too stiffly, his back still to the rest of the world while his eyes saw only the book.

“What was he doing here?” asked Ydris quietly. Too quietly. Jack froze, then cursed as he remembered.

“Z brought him here to hide from the fangirls,” said Jack. “But I made him leave pretty quickly.”

“You know that threw my whole day off?” said Ydris, finally turning around. Jack’s heart broke to see that Ydris’ eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot. Ydris never cried.

“Sorry,” said Jack. “At least I made him leave.”

“I’m not blaming you or Z,” said Ydris. “It’s just… never mind.” He got up, wiping his eyes and walking to the kitchen, where he pulled out a box of teabags. He sniffed, filling up the tea-kettle. Jack still felt guilty, though, no matter how much Ydris assured him that it wasn’t his fault. Ydris must be feeling bad if he couldn’t even magic himself a cup of tea. And his back was hunched and he moved stiffly, as if it was sore. From whip wounds, for instance.

“Here, let me make that,” said Jack, walking into the kitchen and gently nudging his fiancé aside.

“No, I’ve got it,” said Ydris, but, as he said that, his shaky hands dropped the box, spilling teabags onto the floor. “Oh-“

“Hey,” said Jack, wrapping his arms tightly around the taller man. “I might be a bit small to cling to, but cling to me.” He moved the tea kettle off the burner, turning the burner off, and patted Ydris’ back gently. Though that might be a bad idea, given the memories that Ydris was no doubt currently reliving, but it wasn’t like Jack could reach his shoulder. Jack settled for rubbing Ydris’ back instead.

“Thank you,” Ydris whispered, and now the tears came, pink-tinged. Jack had seen the similarities when he’d first seen Evergray, and he hadn’t wanted to ask for fear of bringing up just these memories, but he still didn’t ask now.

“It’s okay, I’m here,” Jack whispered back. They didn’t need to whisper, but Jack couldn’t help but whisper in the presence of such an injured man. Like a wounded animal.

“I’m sick too,” Ydris said quickly. “But I won’t go to him for help, Jack, I can’t. I went there, to Pandoria, hoping to find him, because I was foolish and headstrong and wanted to pay him back for what he’d done to me. But we both got lost, and I- I found him, and we were eventually freed at the same time. But, while he was welcomed back as a victim, I slunk away. They offered to treat me, but I refused help. I didn’t want to be near him. He’s the reason I’m sick, the reason I’m dying.”

“We’ll find a cure,” said Jack, tears in his own eyes now at the thought of losing the one who meant everything to him. Figures that the second he found happiness, it would be torn from him again. The world was cruel like that. And it was just Jack’s luck. Maybe he didn’t deserve permanent happiness. But that didn’t mean that he couldn’t fight for it. Even if it killed him.

“Don’t worry, I made it sound worse than it is,” said Ydris, wiping away Jack’s tears with his gloved thumbs. “I may not be able to cure myself, but I have spells and potions to help deal with the pain and the other side-effects. I heard him coughing.”

“You don’t deserve this,” said Jack. “It’s just so fucking unfair.”

“I know,” said Ydris. “But if it makes you feel better, the sickness means that I will have a more human lifespan. I won’t have to outlive you.”

“Don’t go dying on my account,” said Jack.

“It evens the playing field, though, doesn’t it?” said Ydris, giving Jack a small, teary smile. “But try not to worry too much about that. I am here now, we both are, and that is the important part.” He bent down slightly to give his fiancé a kiss, and Jack gratefully returned it, even as their tears mingled together.


End file.
